Several non-governmental organisations have signed a statement calling for the withdrawal or rejection of the draft law, voted in the first reading, which provides for changes in the way the Prosecutor General is chosen.

According to the statement, on 28 December 2023, draft law No. 491 was registered, which proposes that the Prosecutor General be elected exclusively on the basis of a majority vote of the members of the Superior Council of Prosecutors (SCP) and excludes the evaluation of candidates “on the basis of clear criteria and a score”. The bill was drafted by a member of the Action and Solidarity faction and voted on the same day by 57 PAS deputies in the first reading.

According to the author, the draft aims to “clarify certain provisions” related to the competition for the post of Prosecutor General. According to the draft, the candidate with the highest number of votes, but not less than half of the members present at the PSC meeting, will be proposed to the President of the Republic of Moldova for appointment as Prosecutor General. If no candidate accumulates the required number of votes, a repeat competition will be held.

Currently, the regulatory framework provides that the Prosecutor General is appointed on the basis of the score given by each member of the SCP, on the basis of criteria approved by the PSC and with the reasoning of the score given to each candidate. The score obtained by the candidate is the average score given by all the SCP members who evaluated the candidate. The final score is published on the official website of the SCP.

“Election by ballot offers greater discretion than evaluation on the basis of pre-set criteria and score. Voting does not require the person offering it to justify their decision, whereas the pre-established criteria and score show which aspects of each candidate were appreciated and less appreciated, making it clearer why one candidate is preferable to another.

Moreover, the use of the scoring system allows attempts to manipulate the results to be identified, which is practically impossible if the new legislative provisions proposed in the draft are applied. We admit the possibility of manipulation of the score, as the author of the initiative argues. However, manipulation of the vote is easier, while the possibility of manipulation of the score can be reduced by applying the median score.

This draft reduces the transparency and meritocracy of the selection process of the Prosecutor General and represents a step backwards from the existing situation,” the NGOs warn.

At the same time, the initiative would be in contradiction with the commitments made by the Republic of Moldova in achieving its objectives, which were the basis for the opening of accession negotiations with the European Union. The European Commission in its report stated that Moldova should ensure transparent and merit-based appointments to key judicial and prosecutorial governance bodies, including the appointment of a new Prosecutor General.

In addition, the initiative has been promoted in the context of the conduct of the competition for the appointment of the Prosecutor General.

“The hasty adoption of the draft suggests the legislature’s desire to change the rules of the given competition, which can only be criticised,” the signatories of the statement add.

In this regard, the signatory organisations:

• Calls on the author to withdraw draft law No 491;
• In the event that the author insists on its promotion, call on the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova to reject draft law No. 491;
• Urges the Superior Council of Prosecutors (SCP) to organise the competition for the selection of the Prosecutor General in conditions of maximum transparency, on the basis of clear and relevant criteria for the given position, including the application of the median score and the publication of the score given to each candidate by each member of the SCP, detailed for each criterion.

The legislative changes are being made while the competition for the position of Prosecutor General, announced on 23 October, is taking place. The deadline for submission of applications in the competition for the position of Prosecutor General has been extended until 29 December 2023. The SCP had previously announced that six candidates were registered.